Antarctic conservation blog archive

Lucy, Thursday 15 October 2009

Weather: clear blue skies; -18 degrees C; less than 10 knots of wind.

When I first looked at a map of Ross Island, Antarctica, I was surprised to see that the historic huts of Captain Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton at Cape Evans and Cape Royds are only about 5 kilometres apart. They are both built by the seashore of McMurdo Sound, convenient locations for the expedition members when they were off-loading the ships. For us living at Scott Base (New Zealand’s science base) the huts can be easily visited in a day by hagglund (an all terrain vehicle) - provided the sea ice is thick and strong enough to drive across.

Last weekend we took a trip to see the historic huts. It was a visit which both Fran and I have been looking forward to impatiently since arriving.

I have seen so many photos of the huts that when the time came to visit them I had the impresion they might seem somehow familiar. In reality, the huts and settings are quite different from expected.

Shackleton’s 1908 hut at Cape Royds is smaller, more sheltered and much cosier than I ever thought possible in Antarctica. Whereas the hut at Cape Evans, built by Captain Scott in 1911, is much larger and the outlook is more open than the impression I had from the photographs. Standing in front of the hut, the vista is wide open, over the Ross Sea towards the Royal Society mountain range and Mount Erebus (the southernmost active volcano) towers behind.

Inside the galley area at Sir Ernest Shackleton’s 1908 base (note the ‘graffiti’ was written by the original expedition members) © Antarctic Heritage Trust

Inside Scott’s hut it is quite messy, which gave the slightly eerie feeling that the survivors of the expeditions were in such a hurry to leave Antarctica on their ship, the Terra Nova, that they didn’t have a chance to tidy up. Shackleton’s hut at Cape Royds on the other hand is much more orderly and still feels almost lived in.

Captain Scott’s 1910 base at Cape Evans with Mount Erebus in the background © Antarctic Heritage Trust

I don’t know which of the 2 huts I like the best at the moment but I am sure that after living at both for 3 months, by the end of the summer I will have made up my mind.

Posted in Antarctica, Cape Evans, Cape Royds, McMurdo, Royds hut, Scott, Shackleton

4 Responses to “Homes from home”

1. October 16th, 2009 at 9:05 am
   Danny Moldovan says:
   

   Hey Lucy,

   I just came across this blog - absolutely love the glimpse you guys offer into life there. I help coordinate outreach for Change.org and am one of the organizers for this year’s Blog Action Day, which took place today. I wanted to reach out because we would love to get this blog involved (it will only take a minute).

   http://www.blogactionday.org

   Blog Action Day is an annual event held every October 15th when bloggers from around the world write about the same topic on the same day to raise awareness about an issue of global importance. This year we chose climate change, and more than 12,000 blogs in 155 countries participated.

   By the end of today’s work we saw more than 27,000 related posts reach nearly 18 million people. Prime Minister Gordon Brown even got involved with his blog as did the White House.

   Though the event is almost over, we would love to also get you involved. As the only participating blog in Antarctica, we might be able to bring some attention to your work there. There are few other places on the planet where the effects of climate change are more severe and immediate. Adding your blog to the list of supporters and/or a quick post about climate change would be a really meaningful way to wrap up this year’s campaign.

   To sign up, visit http://www.blogactionday.org. And if you have any suggestions or questions, please don’t hesitate to email me at danny@change.org.

   Thanks so much for all that you do,
   Danny Moldovan

2. October 16th, 2009 at 11:01 am
   Danny Moldovan says:
   

   Hey Lucy - just to clarify, we’d love to have you guys involved (on any level) regardless of the date. Even though the main event is over, the follow-up campaign is just beginning and we’ll be raising awareness for our blog partners for the rest of the month. Hope to see you guys involved.

   Best,
   Danny

3. October 18th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
   Jeffrey D says:
   

   Hey Lucy, great to hear about the huts - It’s really amazing how well they’ve been preserved over the years, and how well you guys are taking care of them - excited to see more photos as the summer progresses. Who is your photographer? Are there any special considerations you have to make when shooting in such a cold climate?

   Cheers!

   -Jeffrey

4. October 21st, 2009 at 12:29 am
   Vincent Day says:
   

   It is so enjoyable to read your account of visiting the huts. It is also inspirational that you are working in that vast and most mysterious and foreboding continent!!

   I appreciate your account of your experiences.

   All the best,

   Vincent Day
   Charlottesville, Virginia